A new study finds that there are wide discrepancies in the mental health outcomes of young people living in rural and urban areas. The research published in the Journal of Applied Social Science focuses on youth suffering from Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) that impacts their family life, relationships, self-care, and their learning.
Continue reading “Strengthening Youth Services”
A study of 22,600 Americans finds that women are more likely to experience mental health issues within workplaces that pay women less than their male counterparts. The study is published in Social Science and Medicine. Continue reading Pay Gap Increases Mental Health Issues for Women
This week’s social science quote comes from Gabor Mate who is a physician, but he specialises in mind-body wellbeing. He draws on social science principles to treat issues such as mental illness, addiction and disease. He also lectures on the importance of … Continue reading Social Science Quote: Gabor Mate on Taking Responsibility
How can you better address the experience of stress and work? Research shows that stress comes from many sources, but the cumulative effect can lead to chronic illness. Sane Australia reports that one in five Australians will experience some form of mental illness.
Many people manage stress in unhealthy ways because they don’t understand the resources available to them or because they don’t have a good support system in place, including at work. Social science can be used to better understand and improve corporate mental health programs.
Your Social Science Snack for the week is about using social science to become more aware about mental wellbeing.
Psychologist Wendy Hasenkam has conducted research on how to improve mental focus. She argues that “The more focused we are, the more successful we can be at whatever we do.” She shows that the ability to focus is like a muscle that you can train. There are four key ways to achieve this, centred on better breathing methods and a deeper understanding of our thinking patterns. Continue reading “How to Improve Your Focus”
Indigenous communities in remote areas face problems of access and relevance when it comes to mental health services. In areas such as Darwin and Alice Springs, where mental health practitioners are so far they need to be flown in, mental … Continue reading Culturally Relevant Mental Health Services for Indigenous Youth
Continue reading “Holistic understanding of mental health in Indigenous culture”Indigenous culture has for a long time had a holistic understanding of mental health. Within this are concepts of the cultural importance of the connection between the mind and body as well as the land, ancestors and other spiritual connections…. What I admire most in my family and all the communities is Aboriginal people’s great resilience and generosity of spirit, not only to their own people but to everyone. Despite a terrible history that is still very close for Australia’s Indigenous people, this spirit of generosity and resilience are something to celebrate and acknowledge.
The OECD’s Better Life Index attempts to compare well-being amongst OECD nations using education, housing, environment measures. The Economist has reproduced this graphic, which ranks Australia first, the USA second and Norway third.
On the one hand these types of surveys are useful because they measure social conditions rather than simply material wealth. On the other hand, this particular graphic neglects other socio-economic measures that give a different picture of national well-being.
Continue reading “Measuring Well-Being: Why Health, Gender and Communities Need to be Counted in Surveys”